The invention relates generally to multimedia applications for wireless communication devices and more particularly to a method and apparatus for transferring a multimedia application to or from a wireless communication device to another communication device, either wired or wireless.
Wireless communication devices such as cellular phones, PCS phones, personal digital assistants, portable computers or the like provide mobility for communication applications such that a user can access multimedia applications virtually anywhere. Such devices are commonly used for multimedia applications such as streaming audio, streaming video, instant messaging, push-to-talk and other applications. Moreover, the robustness of mobile communication devices to handle such multimedia applications and the development of new applications means that the use of wireless communication devices for such applications will continue to increase.
Because of the mobile nature of wireless communication devices the situation may arise where a mobile user that is involved in a multimedia session on a first wireless communication device may want to continue the session but on a different communication device. For example, a wireless user that is receiving streaming video on a mobile phone may want to transfer the session to a desk top computer without terminating the session. Likewise, a user in an active session at a desk top computer may want to continue the session on a mobile device. The desire to transfer the session may result from a need to transfer the session for technical reasons such as battery life or screen size or simply a desire to continue the session in a different environment. Today the user must terminate the session on one communication device and reinitiate the session on the second communication device.
A method and apparatus for allowing a user to transfer an active multimedia session between a first communications device and a second communications device without terminating the session is desired.